Improvement in lifting-apparattjs



.shoulders alone, then I make use of `il w est, dimmi was D.l P. BU'ILE R, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

4 Lette/rs .Patent No. 87 ,465, rlate'd March 2, 1869.y

IMPROVEMENT IN LIFTING-APPARATUS.

The Schedule referred tol in these Letters Patent and making part of the sama.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, D. P. BUTLER, of Boston,.in the county of Suiiolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in Lifting-Apparatus; and I do hereby declare -that the following, taken iu connection with the drawings, which accompany andrform part of this speciiication, is a description of my invention, sufficient to enable those Iskilled in the art to practise it.

This invention relates to certain additions to and improvements upon the apparatus patented by me, under the number L;t8,050, dated J une 6, 1865, by which additions and improvements a weight, located centrally, directly beneath the body of a person whose spine is substantially in line with the centre of gravity of the weight to be lifted, can be raised by straps applied over the shoulders of the person, or by compounding with vthe shoulderlitt the power of the arms and hands, placed either at the sides of the body or before and behind it,or so that the weight can be lifted by and through the hands, in the position in which they hang naturally by the sides of the body.

VIn the drawings, which illustrate an embodiment ofV my invention, there arc two views- Figure 1 being a front view or elevation, 'and Figure 2, a side view of my improved apparatus.

The table or platform, the weight, and the suspending and lifting-rod, are all as shown in my aforesaid patent, hence, I shall pass at once to the additions made by me, and which form the subject of this application.

To apply the muscular force ofthe body, as exerted from the shoulders, to lift the weight c, suspended on the rod 1 I make use of two straps, p, 'of suitable length and strength, which straps are provided with pads, q', and are united at the ends to rings, fr.

' These straps or harness are put over the head and neck of a person, so that the pads rest on the shoulders, with the ends to which the rings are fastened, depending in front of and in the rear of the body.

When the exercise is to be that of lifting from the a piece, s, which is capable of adjustment, as a nut, upand down on the screw-threads formed en the rod b, so as to make the connection between the body and the weight such that the maximum lifting-effect will be produced with the minimum of exertion and movement.

The piece s is made with hooks or projections, over which the harnessrings can be slipped, to couple the harness and the person to the weight, which, when the 4proper adjustments have been made, with the spine of theperson directly over the centre of the weight, and the legs slightly bent, is then elevated chieiiy by the straightening of the legs.`

In order to bring the hands and armsinto action,

when at the sides of the body, I locate on the rod I), 4beneath the table-top a, a `cross-bar, t, which may be adjusted asA a nut up-or down on the screw-threads on rod b.

This cross-bar is made long enough to receive rods, u, made With handles, and located at such distances apart from the rod b, that thehandles of rods u will be in width apart,`about the width apart of the hands of the average of persons, when hanging naturally` from the shoulders.

The lower ends of rods n are made with screwh threads to titin nut-threads made inthe holes in crossbar t, to receive the rods n, and several such holes may be made at each end of the bar t, so as to adjust the distance apart of the rods u.

vrIhe adjustment of the handles of rods u, so as to correspond to the requirements of the body ofthe pe"- son who is to exercise, is made by turning the rods,

i which will raise o1' lower the handles thereof, according as'the. rotation is made in one or the other directioli.

In combined hand-and-shoulder lifting, a handle, lsuoli as is described in my patent, No. 55,618, of June 1 9, 1866, maybe placed throu'gh the stirrup or loop' at the top of rod b.

Over the ends of the handle are slipped links, c, through which pass screws, zu, having hook-formed tops, to which hooks the harness-rings are coupled, the screws 'zu affording means for adjustment of the harness relative to the handle d, and suited to the conformation of the body.

In this arrangement for compound shoulder and hand-lifting, the person stands astlide of the handle d, with one hand in front -of and one in rear of the body, and so that the spine is substantially in line with the prolongation ofthe axis of rod b.

The compound shoulder-and-hand lifting may be performed with the .hands at the sides, instead of at the front and rear of the body, in which case the use of handle d, and the links c, with their 'screw-hooks w, may be dispensed with, the harness being coupled to the piece s, and-the hands hanging at the sides in position to grasp handles n..

,It will be seen that, with this apparatus, a weight, which has its centre of gravity directly under the spine of the person who is to lift it in exercising, may be raised by the hands alone in either of two positions, one at the sides of the body, and the other withone hand before and the other behind the body. Also, that combined hand-alid-shoulder lifting may be practised with the weight in the specified relation to the body, either with the hands at the sides, or in the other specified position.

I claim, for lifting in a vertical direction in the line of the spine, the shoulder-strap harness, substantially as shown and described.

Also, in combination with the vertical rod l), the cross-bar t, and the handles n, substantially as and for .the purpose set forth.

Also, the combination, with the shoulder-strap harness, of the handle d, substantially as described.

Also, the arrangement of the handles, or of the handle, through which the effort ofth'cgymnast is exerted, with screw-threads in connection with nut threads, so that the height'of the handles or handle above the platform can be adjusted without change in the position. of the weight.

D. P. BUTLER. Witnesses FRANCIS GoULn, O. WARREN BROWN; 

